Eastern Conference:

15.    Miami Heat

With a brutal record of 9-42, Miami has been also terrible against-the-spread with a record of 18-34. But this team can be even worse at home, where they have just covered the spread in 27% (7-19) of their home games. The weirdest part is that against teams from the East, Miami is 2-15 ATS at home and 0-7 ATS, where they had the home dog. The trade of Marion brings to the team some momentum, but it will be dangerous for the handicappers, as Miami will always be loved by the bettors, which will make the bookies overrate them. The edge may go to the over, as with Marion the team will play faster. This was already shown by the bookies in the three games Marion has already played, as Miami had lines of 208, 211 and 195 points, where in normal conditions these lines would be way lower than they were. Twenty of the last thirty games of Miami will be against teams from the East, which may give some momentum to the team in the remaining of the season. However, they will need to improve in their home games, as a record of 1-9 ATS as home favorites is just brutal.

14.   Charlotte Bobcats

The Bobcats have been disappointing this season, not that anyone was expecting a lot from the team, but they were obligated to do better than they did. The hiring of Nazr Mohammed, who would be good for the team has become a problem, with Okafor has been playing badly lately. The team has been playing with Gerald Wallace as a PF and a sign of that is that they had a record of 29 overs and 23 unders right now, showing that the team has been playing with a fast tempo this season. The team has shown that they are weak on away games and a good choice to fade, as they are 5-14 ATS being away dogs until now. Before the overtime win over Atlanta, the team was coming from seven defeats in a row. The biggest problem for this team is that 18 and their final 29 games will be away from home and that's the main reason why they are so low in my power rankings.

13.   Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks are yet to find their identity this season, but the team is only four games away from the last spot for the playoffs and they will play at home 17 of their last 29 games in the regular season, so they still have a good chance to make it to the playoffs. But everything will depend from the physical conditions of Michael Redd. In this last series of games he was injured, the team had five defeats and just two wins. The Bucks have been a good fade when they are home favorites, as they are 4-10 ATS in this condition, but when they are the home dog, they are 7-4 ATS. The tendency will probably remain the same in the future and the Bucks as a home dog may be a good choice to back in these following months.

12.    New Jersey Nets

The Nets were the worst team of the league against-the-spread in the first part of the season, with just 17-32. They have been the biggest disappointment of the season, when they were even considered as a potential winner of the conference this season. Now with Kidd's future being far from New Jersey, the team may have value in some of their following games, as they won't be loved by the public money. The record of 8-19 ATS in their home games shows how good they were to fade until now. The record of 23-30 would put them in the playoffs right now, but without Kidd it will be hard to predict what this team will do in the future. The only thing I know is that they will be the underdog in a lot of matches until the end of the regular season.

11.   New York Knicks

The most hated team by the bettor, but who hasn't been that bad this season, as they are 26-26 ATS until now. Avoid them when they are favorites, as their record of 1-8 ATS in that situation, shows how inconsistent is the team. The team is 15-10 ATS in away games, mainly thanks to the hate of the bettors, which allows the bookies to give them very large spreads. The Knicks are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games, showing that they have some value, especially when they are underdogs with a big spread. Without Marbury the team fights more, but they continue to collect losses until the end of the season.